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Criteria For Exit and Associated Assessments
According to United States Department of EducationÆs Office for Civil Rights' Policy (September 1991 Policy Update), procedures for determining when students with limited proficiency in English are no longer in need of ESL support services should be based on multiple criteria. In other words, test scores alone are insufficient for assessing the complexities involved in language learning. Recommendations of the Office for Civil Rights Policy with respect to exit criteria are that: (1) Exit criteria must be based on objective standards. This would include some form of formal testing procedures using standardized tests; and (2)Exit criteria must ensure that students not be exited from support services unless they can read, write and comprehend English well enough to participate meaningfully in the regular classroom. It is this ability to read, write and comprehend English well enough for meaningful participation in the regular classroom that constitutes readiness for exit, and commonly this can only be comprehensively assessed through informal assessment methods.
The recommended multiple criteria for determining when to fully exit a student from ESL support services, according the Office of Civil Rights Policy (1991) must be criteria which show that the student has met the following standards of performance:
1. Proficiency in oral skills (evidence of ability to comprehend and speak English at the level of peers of the same grade for both social and academic purposes).
2. Proficiency in reading skills (evidence that the student is able to read in content areas at the appropriate grade level for academic purposes).
3. Proficiency in writing skills (evidence that the student is able to write at the appropriate grade level for academic purposes).
4. Documented evidence of successful student performance in content area classes in which the student is already mainstr...